The Kerala Story hit headlines days before its May 5 release, with many sections of the population questioning its controversial theme. The box office, however, is telling a different story. The Adah Sharma-starrer has reportedly earned Rs 45.75 crore in four days. This has left the trade jubilant as Bollywood has not witnessed a big hit this year since Shah Rukh Khan’s January release, Pathaan. 

Trade analyst Taran Adarsh says, “The Kerala Story has been made on an approximate budget of Rs. 28-30 crores. It’s not fair to compare it with Pathaan, or any other star project. It has made humongous money despite not having a massive star cast. The collections are growing rapidly because of positive word of mouth.”

Sudipto Sen’s directorial venture, which claims to be based on true stories, narrates the ordeal of three women from Kerala who are converted to Islam and trafficked to the ISIS camps. The movie received pushback from Kerala and Tamil Nadu, with Kerala Chief Minister Pinarayi Vijayan saying that the trailer positioned “an uncompromisingly secular land like Kerala as a hotbed of terrorists”. On Monday, the West Bengal government banned its screening to avoid “any incident of hatred and violence”.

Ramesh Bala, trade analyst in the south, says, “In Tamil Nadu, the movie played only on Saturday and Sunday, after which the state’s multiplex association withdrew it. The first two days’ response was average. In Bengaluru and Hyderabad multiplexes, the film did well, while the performance was muted in Kerala. The reason why it is not catching on more strongly in the south is because it’s essentially a Hindi film. If it were dubbed in local languages, there was more scope of it doing well.”

Meanwhile, Adarsh notes that the heartland has lapped up the offering. Yesterday, the Uttar Pradesh government made it tax free, the second state to do so after Madhya Pradesh. Adarsh says that The Kerala Story is doing brisk business in Maharashtra and Rajasthan as well.

“A film of this budget usually does a lifetime business of Rs. 7-10 crores. But its lifetime collection will easily touch Rs. 100 crores. This is a ray of hope for distributors because Bholaa, Kisi Ka Bhai Kisi Ki Jaan, Selfiee and Shehzada were all under-performers.”

Ashoke Pandit, president, Indian Film & Television Directors’ Association (IFTDA), expressed disapproval of the West Bengal government’s decision to ban The Kerala Story.

The IFTDA released a statement that read, “We stand by the filmmaker and his film the way we stood by films like Udta Punjab and Padmaavat. The film, which has been passed by the Central Board of Film Certification, cannot be banned. We, therefore, appeal to the state government to revert their decision of banning the film.”

The makers have moved the Supreme Court, seeking the removal of the movie’s ban in West Bengal.